The Honnō-ji Incident

Timeline

1. 1582Kameyama Castle, Tanba · Kyoto PrefectureAkechi Mitsuhide assembled some 13,000 troops at Kameyama Castle in Tanba and, with the order "The enemy is at Honnō-ji," turned his entire army toward Kyoto, abandoning his original mission of marching west to aid Toyotomi Hideyoshi against the Mōri, formally launching his rebellion against Oda Nobunaga.
2. 1582Honnō-ji · Kyoto CityAt dawn, Akechi forces with overwhelming numbers surrounded Honnō-ji, where Oda Nobunaga was lodging. Nobunaga, with only a handful of attendants and guards, knowing he could not break out, fought back with a bow before setting fire to the temple (sources also record seppuku); the temple burned to the ground. That same day, another Akechi force attacked Myōkaku-ji, where Oda Nobutada was staying, and Nobutada also died in battle.
3. 1582Honnō-ji · Kyoto CityOda Nobunaga died in the fire at Honnō-ji; his remains have never been found, and accounts differ as to whether he died by self-immolation or seppuku. His grand project of "Tenka Fubu" to unify Japan was thus cut short. Nobunaga's death triggered a power struggle among warlords across the country, and the Sengoku period entered its final phase.
4. 1582Yamazaki (foot of Mount Tennō) · Osaka PrefectureAfter learning of the Honnō-ji Incident, Toyotomi Hideyoshi quickly made peace with the Mōri and marched his army rapidly east, joining with Oda Nobutaka, Niwa Nagahide, and other senior retainers to crush Akechi Mitsuhide's forces at Yamazaki, at the foot of Mount Tennō on the border of Settsu and Yamashiro provinces. Mitsuhide was killed by armed peasants (rōshi) at Ōkurisu while fleeing after the battle. His control of Kyoto lasted only about thirteen days, known in history as the "Three-Day Realm." This battle established Hideyoshi's dominant position within the Oda regime and laid the foundation for his subsequent unification of the country.